Land and Marine Environmental Resources Group. (2014). Addendum 2 to the environmental impact assessment report for the development of a transit hotel and luxury villas at Baa Finolhas. Male': Maldives

Abstract:

This non-technical summary highlights the findings of the Second Addendum to the
Environmental Impact Assessment of the proposed development of a Transit Hotel and Luxury
Villas on the island of Finolhas in Baa Atoll by Coastline Hotels and Resorts Pvt Ltd. The
proponent has brought changes to the concept plan, based on which the EIA for the project was
approved. The EIA report was submitted and approved on 21st January 2013. A revised concept
plan has been approved and a conditional development approval by the Ministry of Tourism has
been provided, conditional to environmental clearance by EPA. This addendum therefore covers
description of these changes, their environmental impacts and any mitigation measures that are
required in context of environmental impacts and mitigation measures described in the EIA of
2013,
The changes proposed to the concept are;
 Quay wall construction on the land side of the harbour basin
 Revetment construction on the south western shoreline
 Construction of a temporary jetty on north eastern lagoon
These changes are fully discussed in Section 4 of the report, while impacts and monitoring
required are discussed in Sections 5 and 6.
While the proposed changes to the concept range from minor to moderate (few cases), the
environmental footprint of the proposed changes are anticipated as low.
Revetment works proposed is likely to have a positive impact to the shoreline where it has
been proposed and nearby shoreline, as the primary objective of the revetment was to control
severe erosion in this area. Quay wall, although not part of original concept would provide
additional mooring space within the harbour in addition to reducing sediment fill up into the
harbour basin without the quay wall. The quay wall construction will not completely block water
flow across the harbour along the shoreline as there are gaps in the revetment beneath harbour
wall ways. Temporary jetty has been proposed for the construction period only (second phase of
the overall project, described in EIA 2013). Hence no significant additional impacts are expected
to occur due to the changes to the concept plan and construction of temporary jetty. Therefore, it
is concluded that the mitigation and monitoring proposed in the EIA for this development is
more than sufficient to address these requirements of the project.